Quote:
are the xb500's really better than the xb700's?
There's an easy answer to this like many people around here should understand if they already haven't. It's down to personal preference.
I've already stated the difference between XB500 and XB700, XB500 has more impact and punchy bass (which will make it seem bassier because punch & impact to the bass stands out more in songs than very deep sub-bass which XB700 mainly focuses on and most songs doesn't even have <70Hz bass either so). However XB500 is very capable just like XB700 of the deepest bass you can find or hear, but since XB700 has so much less punchy or mid to upper bass the deep soft bass will stand out more on XB700 and on XB500 the mid to upper bass covers more the deep bass in comparision. Both have similar sounding mids which happen to sound a lot better than many even 3x expensier headphones IMO too, no noteworthy difference here. Difference in highs is quite dramatic though like in the bass, XB700 by default will have a lot more sparkle or audible high frequencies while XB500 is very smooth or "muddy" sounding (like some Grado user prolly would say). However IMO it would be wrong to say XB700 has better highs cuz they are more sparkly or boosted than on XB500 because in my ears this isn't really a wanted effect, I don't hear this "sparkling" in reality either when listening to some1 talking, I think XB500 sounded more natural in comparision. Again it's all down to personal preferences, I don't like very bright/sparkling highs but some other people do. In my ears it's just easier to listen to the smoother highs of XB500 (if EQ'd a bit because un-EQd they will be too smooth making it sound too muddy). Due to the smoother highs I find many songs just sounding more "full" or warm or soothing. Overall sound signature is also warmer or more aggressive or in-your-face (I try to use different wording in hoping at least some people will understand what I'm trying to describe
think Grados or Ultrasone sound signature) and XB700 is a bit more laid back (compare Sennheiser HD-650 or BeyerDynamic DT880 style but not exactly that much laid-back ofc
). But an important thing to note is that if choosing a XB500 you should only do it if you're using it with a source that has at least a decent equalizer, I'm sure whatever sound signature preferences you have, it's highly likely that you might find them to sound a bit too smooth/muddy unequalized even if you're a person like me that generally prefers a bit smoother highs.
Since we all have our different preferences in sound, it's impossible to say which is better, you need to know what kind of sound YOU prefer. A $1000 headphone doesn't have to sound better for me than my $50 XB500. I'm very aware of what kind of sound I prefer myself now after testing 7 very different closed bassheavy headphones. Unfortunately it's almost the only way to figure out what you like, simply by trying out different headphones and then you'll start to realize what people mean by things like aggressive or laid-back sound etc. and it'll be easier to both recommend headphones for your personal preferences or you should be able to easier dig out the information you need to make the correct purchase.
XB700 is better for people that prefer:
- Lots of deep bass and without lots of mid-upper bass that causes impact or punch
- Laid-back sound signature
- Boosted highs, making them more sparkly/crisp etc.
XB500 is better for people that prefer:
- Lots of bass with both deep bass and mid-upper bass that causes punch & impact to it as well
- Aggressive/warm/in-your-face sound signature
- Smooth highs
Of what I've so far gathered around these forums from different threads it seems XB500 have quite unique sound signature, it doesn't seem to be a common mix with both aggressive sound signature and very smooth highs. Not to mention the big bass quantity and the lovely comfortable cushion pads.
EDIT: Forgot to mention about music genres. If personal preferences are put to side the XB700 sound signature in general tends to fit more well with genres like classical, jazz, blues and instrumental etc. while XB500 is usually more fit for techno, trance, dance, club, hip-hop, pop. Rock is somewhere in the middle, difficult to say which of these handles it better.
